


Creampuff Week--July 2015

by BatWingsandBlackCats



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Creampuff Week, F/F, Fluff, Hollstein - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2015-07-25
Packaged: 2018-04-10 02:30:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4373795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BatWingsandBlackCats/pseuds/BatWingsandBlackCats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I saw the post just in time to participate in Creampuff week, and I really liked the prompts, so here are my pieces for it! I've seen so many Carmilla challenges and events that I've wanted to participate in, but so much has been going on for me that I haven't been able to wrap my head around the bigger ones, so I'm really happy that this one is shorter. Much easier to handle right now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Loud Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Day One-- Fireworks
> 
> sorry for any spelling errors, and I hope you guys enjoy!  
> Comments and critiques are always appreciated :)

Laura quietly entered room 307, a steaming ramen cup in each hand. “Hey Carm, I hope you like beef flavored, there was only one chicken left in the vending machine and I hate....” She trailed off, catching sight of Carmilla. 

The vampire was huddled in bed with a book in her hands, and it wouldn’t have looked so strange if her knuckles weren’t white and her legs weren’t drawn so close to her chest. The lights were off save for Laura’s owl lamp, the little red lanterns above the sink, and a few flickering candles on Carmilla’s headboard. Laura set the soup down beside the candles and knelt in front of the bed.

“Carm?” She asked gently. Carmilla didn’t look up, but her eyes weren’t moving on the page. “Carmilla?”

Carmilla’s grip tightened slightly on her book as she swallowed hard. “Hey...Cupcake,” she said quietly.

“Hey,” Laura said, reaching out and touching her hand tenderly. “What’s wrong? Did you have a nightm--” She was cut short by a loud bang, immediately followed by a flash coming from outside. 

Carmilla flinched and sucked in a sharp breath, but didn’t let it out. Another bang sounded around the room and she cried out. “Bangen, stoppen Sie den Hämmern!” She gasped, ducking her head.

“Oh no...” Laura groaned, “Carm, I’m so sorry, I forgot the fireworks were tonight,” The Common room was all the way at the other end of the hall, and it had no windows so she hadn’t heard the explosions that were unfortunately rather close to their room. 

Carmilla looked up slowly and set down her book, running shaky fingers through her hair. “I...I’m sorry,” She said quietly, trying to compose herself. “Sometimes...it’s not so bad, but they’re so _big_ that I can’t drown it out with music and I can feel them in my chest like I did...like I did then,”

“Hey, no, Carm it’s okay, don’t be sorry,” Laura said softly, rising from her knees and sitting beside the vampire. “wanna talk about it?” 

Carmilla shook her head. “No,” she murmured, though she laid her hand on Laura’s. She looked up, their eyes meeting, and Carmilla hoped Laura would understand why.

Laura did. She knew why Carmilla didn’t like the fireworks, and why she didn’t want to talk about it, and that was enough for her until Carmilla decided to share more, if she was ever ready for that. She did think about it a lot though, what Carmilla had endured throughout her centuries. She understood what Carmilla had told her in the abstract, but she couldn’t possibly fathom what it had actually been like. She was glad she didn’t know, but it also made her ache because Carmilla was so alone in that. No matter how much Carmilla might tell her over the years to come, Laura would never understand, and it made her so _frustrated_. She’d resigned to the fact that she would never fully understand, but that didn’t mean it bothered her any less.

She just wanted to help.

Laura’s eyes moved from Carmilla’s, and a look of concentration overtook her features. Carmilla watched her curiously, and her grip on the little human tightened as another bang sounded outside. Laura held her tighter as well, though her mind was momentarily far away. She turned back to Carmilla after a few minutes had passed. She offered a little smile, and then stood, taking the green blanket from the foor of Carmilla’s bed. She held it open, and gestured for Carmilla to get up. Carmilla got up, looking at her with questioning eyes.

“What are you doing?” Carmilla asked quietly as Laura wrapped the soft fabric around the vampire’s shoulders. 

“Do you trust me?” Laura asked softly. 

Carmilla nodded, her face softening. “Yes,” 

Laura smiled and kissed her, their lips whispers on one another’s. “Come with me,” She said, her voice soft and full of reassurance.

Carmilla looked a bit wary at first, but eventually allowed Laura to lead her to the window. Laura let go of her only long enough to open the shades and the window, and then she took her spot behind Carmilla again, holding her steady, her arms around the vampire’s middle, and her chin resting on Carmilla’s shoulder. She was quiet for a moment before she spoke.

“I know the sounds remind you of when you got out,” She murmured, being vague on purpose. “But these sounds are different. These sounds don’t mean death and destruction, they mean beauty,” Laura’s arms tightened around her slightly as another rocket exploded high up in the air. This one was green and gold and it broke into three separate, smaller explosions, the sparks raining down over the trees. Carmilla flinched, but it wasn’t as bad this time. “My dad only took me to see fireworks once. It was New Year’s, and they were going to set them off over the lake by our house. We left halfway through because he thought they were setting them off too close to the crowd,” She laughed softly, shaking her head a little. “they weren’t. They assured everyone that it was safe, but dad still thought it wasn’t. After that I would watch them from my bedroom window. I thought they looked like stars, thousands of stars raining down...” She looked at Carmilla, who was staring out the window as a red rocket exploded. “Just...loud stars,” Laura caught sight of a faint smile gracing red lips. 

Carmilla turned her head a little to look at her with soft eyes. “Loud stars,” She agreed quietly.

Laura smiled widely, happy that she seemed to be helping. That’s all she wanted. If she couldn’t understand, she wanted to help. 

Carmilla marveled at this little human. Nobody had ever been so tender with her, so patient. Nobody had ever wrapped her in blankets, offering comfort like it was the natural thing to do. Carmilla knew, theoretically, that it actually was the natural thing to do, but nobody had ever extended that to her. At least, not since her human life. But here was this woman who accepted her nature, and despite wanting to understand her past and her hurt, the blood on her hands and the shadows behind her eyelids, she accepted that she wouldn’t. Carmilla was grateful that she didn’t push for more details. And it wasn’t so much that Carmilla didn’t want to tell her, either. She just _couldn't_. She couldn’t get the words out without slipping and falling into her memories to the point where she couldn’t see the world around her, much less Laura’s beautiful eyes or the curve of her lips or the honey brown locks framing her face. She couldn’t, she _couldn't_ hurt Laura. And most of the time, she couldn’t untangle the memories enough to get them out in coherent sentences. Much less in English. There was also the fear that, if Laura learned too much, she’d run. Logically she knew that wasn’t the case, but the fear still gripped her stomach whenever the thought arose. 

Carmilla sighed softly and leaned her forehead against Laura’s. “Thank you,” She said in a voice so soft it could barely be heard. 

“Anything for you,” Laura murmured. 

They stood there quietly for a long while, watching the fireworks. Laura held her tighter whenever one sounded, and Carmilla’s flinches got smaller and smaller. Carmilla leaned her head on Laura’s, and Laura kissed her cheek now and then, relieved that her idea hadn’t backfired horribly. 

“Why the blanket?” Carmilla asked suddenly after what felt like ages.

Laura was quiet for a moment. “It’s something I used to do, after the accident,” She said, biting her lip for a moment. “I couldn’t ride in the car for a year and a half without wrapping myself up. I used bring my favorite quilt with me whenever I had to go in the car. Dad kept a spare in the car in case I forgot. The shrink I was seeing thought it was stupid, that it was a weakness and a crutch. Dad stopped taking me there, and I saw someone else, a man in his 70’s for two years instead. He said it was perfectly okay that I do it as long as I needed to.” She smiled a little. “He was all for comforting yourself and letting yourself do what you need to feel okay. And apparently containment has a calming affect. Like the weighted vests they have for pets? It’s supposed to be like that...and I know you don’t like small spaces but I thought maybe it’d be alright because it’s not pressing on you and your head is free,” true to form, she’d forgotten to breathe through that, and sucked in a long breath. “It’s okay, right?”

Carmilla smiled a little, adoringly. “It’s perfect, cupcake,”

Relief flashed over Laura’s face, and she hugged Carmilla tighter, nuzzling into her neck. Carmilla’s smile widened, and she snaked a hand out from under the blanket, and took Laura’s hand.

“I love you, Laura,” she said quietly, reverently. 

“I love you too, Carm,” Laura replied, her tone mirroring Carmilla’s as she surfaced from the sea of sweet smelling curls at Carmilla’s neck. She looked at Carmilla with sleepy, content, and loving eyes with a lazy smile on her lips. It was well past one in the morning, and she was clearly tired, but she had no desire to sleep. It was a friday anyways, they could both sleep all day saturday. 

Carmilla turned around in Laura’s arms, and carefully cupped her face, leaning forward until their lips connected. Laura let out a contented sigh through her nose, and it tickled Carmilla’s cheeks, making her smile. Laura smiled as well, unable to help it, which caused Carmilla to laugh softly. Laura ran her tongue along Carmilla’s lower lip, asking for permission, which was immediately given. Their tongues brushed together, making them both smile too widely to actually kiss. They broke apart, laughing into each other.

“Hungry?” Laura asked, her voice breathy from laughing. 

“Yeah,” Carmilla chuckled, nudging Laura’s head gently with her own. Laura returned the nudge, and then kissed her nose before turning to their forgotten soup.

“Oh...ew,” Laura scrunched her nose up as she picked at the muck that had become of their ramen. 

Carmilla looked over her shoulder and wrinkled her nose. “How about we go to the diner and get burgers?”

Laura nodded fervently as she dumped the soup in the garbage. “Yeah,” 

Carmilla smiled and put her blanket back on her bed. She was still moving slowly, her hands shaking slightly, but she felt infinitely better than she had a hour ago. She watched Laura for a moment as she changed out of her sweatpants and pulled on a pair of washed out blue jeans and her Silas hoodie. Carmilla pulled on her leather jacket and shoved her feet into her boots, and a moment later, they joined hands and left the room together. 

The dark sky above them was littered with stars and lingering smoke trails from fireworks that had ceased fifteen minutes ago. Carmilla was breathing again, and faint clouds escaped her lips like she was breathing out the ghosts of her past. Laura was as well, though hers were bigger, warmer. They held each other’s hand tightly, their fingers tangled together as they headed towards Carmilla’s car. It was a banged up pickup truck, but she loved it. When they got in, Carmilla handed Laura what had ben in her hand. The green blanket. Laura smiled at Carmilla, her eyes sad and happy at the same time and so full of love. She leaned over and kissed Carmilla gently, and draped the blanket over herself. 

The sadness dissipated from them both as Carmilla put the radio on and opened the windows, their hands interlocking again as they pulled out of the parking lot, embarking on a search for real food at two in the morning with some classic rock hit pouring out the windows.


	2. On The Way Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Creampuff Week day two--Roadtrip
> 
> Set after season two, Laura, Carmilla, and the ginger squad head home for the holidays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is Day two of Creampuff Week :) hope you guys enjoy! comments and critiques are always welcome, and kudos appreciated :)
> 
> (sorry for any errors)

“I swear to god if you three do not shut up I am pulling over and you can _run_ beside the car.” 

_“Carm,”_

“What? Xena does cross country, she can handle it.” Carmilla said, glaring at the three offending gingers through the rearview mirror. 

Laura gave her a look. 

“Cupcake, it is eight in the morning, I haven’t had any blood yet let alone coffee, it is snowing and they are _loud_. I have every right to be grumpy,”

Laura held out a travel mug to her, and a sniff told her that it was O negative. Carmilla grumbled a thank you and turned her eyes back to the road after taking a swig. LaFontaine made a whip noise from the back seat and Carmilla actually hissed. Laura stifled a laugh and Danny snickered from beside LaFontaine. Perry just looked reproachful. 

Laura turned to look out the window. She loved watching the snow fly by the windows, swirling around the windshield before whizzing off to who knows where. She was starting to enjoy car rides again, and she was just now realizing how much she missed it. It was nice, being bundled up in one of Carmilla’s sweaters and her tattered Gryffindor scarf, in Carmilla’s warm car, holding her hand and surrounded by the sound of the radio and their friends bickering in the back seat. She leaned back in her seat, letting out a contented sigh as she absently ran her thumb back and forth over Carmilla’s knuckles. She dug a cookie out of the pack that was nestled between her knees and took a bite. 

Carmilla glanced over to her and smiled. Seeing Laura being able to relax in the car again was wonderful. Seeing that childlike wonder in her eyes as they flew down the highway was a huge relief, and brought sheer joy to her heart. Carmilla chuckled a little under her breath. Laura was just so herself in that moment, wrapped in the Gryffindor colors, (despite the fact that according to something called ‘Pottermore,’ she was a Hufflepuff) munching happily on a cookie and watching the world go by. It made her heart happy. 

Laura looked over to Carmilla and held out a cookie for her, which Carmilla took gratefully. Laura giggled as Carmilla wrangled it into her mouth with just her lips, making a complete fool of herself. Carmilla recovered, however, by slouching deeper into her seat and adopting a scowl to cover her moment of laughter. Or so she thought. It had only made Laura laugh more. (Carmilla was secretly okay with that.) Laura loved watching her in these simple moments, when Carmilla was just doing something so normal. No enchanted swords, no murder-happy mothers or blood reveling sisters. Carmilla _looked_ eighteen in these moments. Like any other college student going home for Christmas. Laura wasn’t dismissing Carmilla’s nature in these moments, not in the least...It just felt like Carmilla was getting bits and pieces back of the youth she missed out on, and it made Laura happy. She was happy that Carmilla could now have some sense of normalcy, and a family, no matter how odd their little family was. The vampire was dressed in a black knit beanie, a Grumpy Cat sweater (a gift from Laura that she’d grumbled and acted rather insulted about, but Laura didn’t miss her wearing it to bed the night before) under her leather jacket, and black jeans tucked into her motorcycle boots. Pale finger drummed on the steering wheel in time with the song on the radio, lips silently moving to the words and she just looked so _her_. 

Both Laura and Carmilla were quiet for a while, listening to the radio, and in Carmilla’s case, trying to ignore the ginger squad’s incessant bickering over which Lord Of The Rings movie was better, and why The Hobbit was, in LaFontaine’s words, _“Such a fucking disgrace.”_

“The Hobbit wasn’t _that_ bad,” Perry said.

LaFontine just gave her a disappointed look. 

“Look, Peter Jackson may be a brilliant director, but you do not replace stunning, handcrafted masks with fucking motion capture CGI. I don't care how god damn revolutionary it is.” Carmilla said, her eyes flicking to the rearview mirror momentarily.

_“Thank you,”_ LaF sighed, leaning back in their seat. 

“The CGI could have been worse, though,” Danny shrugged. 

“Oh shut up Xena, you just like Tolkien because of his translation of Beowulf,”

“Fuck off, fang face,” Danny shot back.

“I will never forgive New Line for pushing the love triangle.” Laura said, finally joining in.

Carmilla made a gagging noise. “Go back to taking about the original trilogy before my ears bleed. Or better yet, the books,” 

“Peter Jackson may have royally fucked up The Hobbit, but you have to admit that the original trilogy adaptation was perfection,” Danny said.

Carmilla shrugged. “It was great, I’ll give it that. But I prefer the books,” 

“I wonder if Tolkien wanted the books to be turned into movies,” Laura wondered out loud.

“He did,” Carmilla said simply, “he thought it would be wonderful to see his characters become real. He was wary though about any kind of live performance. A certain pair of men with leaves in their hats instead of full tree costumes seemed to scar him for life,”

The four of them looked at Carmilla rather blankly. 

Carmilla rolled her eyes and huffed. “‘ _As I did stand my watch upon the hill, I look’d toward Birnam, and anon, methought, the woods began to move!_ ’ Seriously Xena? You call yourself an English Major,” She shook her head, switching lanes.

“MacBeth?” Laura asked.

“Mhmm,” the vampire replied. “he was so excited to see that scene but the ‘moving woods’ were just some dimwits with leaves in their hats,”

“What a bummer,” LaF sighed.

“Wait, weren’t the trees in MacBeth his inspiration for the Ents?” Danny asked.

“It was,” Carmilla said, bobbing her head in a nod. 

“I see someone has watched the six hours of bonus features on the Two Towers special edition,” Laura smirked around another cookie. 

Carmilla squirmed a bit. “While...that may be true, I knew that decades before the movies were even made,”

“How?” perry asked.

Carmilla shrugged. “He told me,” 

LaFontaine nearly choked on their coffee. “He _told_ you?”

“Yeah,” Carmilla said, letting go of Laura’s hand just long enough to take a swig of blood. “Before Maman found me I traveled to England and stayed there for a few years. I had a job at the Eagle and Child pub,”

Laura’s eyes widened. “Which also means that you met--”

“C.S. Lewis,” Danny finished, leaning dangerously close to Carmilla’s seat. 

“Oh no,” Carmilla said, eyes flicking to Laura and then up to the rearview mirror, showing a bit of panic. “No no _no_ , just because I met Tolkien and Lewis for five minutes does not mean you get to interrogate me,” 

_____________

A few hours later, When the four of them had exhausted their questions, they pulled off the highway and headed for a quaint little town LaF had found on their GPS in search of food. After driving around for ten minutes or so, they discovered a little pub on the main street. Once they dislodged themselves from Carmilla’s car ( _“God Kanrstein, why the tiny car? Why not something bigger?” “I like driving fast and little cars go fast. And don’t you dare even suggest a mini van.”_ ) they entered the dimly lip pub.

Carmilla tugged gently on Laura’s hand, hanging back by the door for a moment while the rest of them went to find a booth.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” Carmilla murmured, looking at Laura with concerned eyes as their fingers laced together. 

Laura smiled a little. “I’m fine, Carm,” She kissed her gently, smiling against Carmilla’s lips. Her smile only widened when she felt Carmilla smiling as well. Laura nipped her bottom lip gently before they broke apart.

“The ride isn’t bothering you?” She asked.

Laura shook her head. “It did a little at first, but I’m okay now,”

Carmilla smiled widely, one of those smiles only reserved for Laura. She kissed her cheek. “I’m proud of you, cupcake,”

Laura blushed and kissed her again, deeper this time. “Thanks, babe,” She mumbled against her girlfriend’s lips. 

Carmilla wrapped her arm around Laura’s waist as they found their way to the booth their friends had claimed. They slid into the booth, and Laura began taking her scarf off. Carmilla took her beanie off, and her coat, leaving her beanie on the table and hanging her coat on the hook. 

“Carmilla, we got you a coffee, and cocoa for Laura,” Perry said.

“Thanks, Perry,” Laura grinned.

“Like you need any more sugar, cupcake,” Carmilla drawled, one eyebrow raised as she wrapped an arm around Laura’s shoulders.

“Oh relax, dad always makes tons of vegetable dishes for christmas dinner,” Laura said, picking up her cocoa. “believe me, it’ll probably reverse every cookie I’ve eaten this year,”

LaFontaine snickered, but toned it down once their waiter came by. 

Soon enough they were all eating, but the bickering started again like it had in the car, this time over the Harry Potter movies and books. Carmilla tuned them out, content to just hold Laura’s hand or play with her hair in between bites of her shepherd’s pie. Laura had long finished her turkey and mashed potatoes, and was on her second mug of cocoa. 

__________

 

Darkness was falling over the highway, and the car was quiet except for the low hum of the motor and the radio. Danny had her nose in a book, and Perry was watching out the window while LaF typed away on their phone. (JP was still excited about beer pong. And Kirsch had gotten him a package of cupcakes as an early christmas present.) Laura was dozing off in the passenger seat, her fingers curled around Carmilla’s hand as she slept. 

Carmilla looked over and smiled softly at her. That scarf was back around her neck, and it hid part of her bottom lip, but it moved slightly as Laura mumbled something in her sleep. Her brow was smooth, and Carmilla breathed a sigh of relief. A good dream, hopefully. She squeezed Laura’s hang gently before she let go to turn off an exit. 

Danny looked up. “Almost there?” She asked quietly, aware that Laura was asleep.

“Almost,” Carmilla said, “Another forty-five minuted, probably. Her father lives on the edge of town,”

Danny nodded and turned back to her book. 

Carmilla took Laura’s hand again, and she mumbled something while trying to curl closer to the vampire. Carmilla drove down backroads, past old houses decorated in Christmas lights and frosted with snow, pine trees bowed from the weight of the last snow, and several recreations of Santa’s sleigh, and a giant menorah. Finally, she pulled into the driveway in front of Laura’s house. It was an old home, the wood siding was a neatly painted barn red, and the door was white, complete with a cast iron knocker and an evergreen wreathe. White fairy lights were hung from the eaves and some were wrapped around the trunk of the tree out front. Smoke rose from the chimney, disappearing into the night sky. 

Carmilla sat back and smiled softly, sighing. Danny was already extracting herself from the car, eager to stretch her legs after being folded up for so long. Laf and Perry got out as well, and the three of them went around to the trunk to get their bags out. 

Carmilla looked over to Laura, who was still asleep, and smiled. “Laura,” she said softly, gently shaking her shoulder. “Laura,”

“Hmmwhat?” She mumbled, her eyes opening.

“We’re here, cupcake,” She said gently, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “We’re home,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That bit about Tolkien being disappointed by the trees in MacBeth is true, as is the fact that those trees inspired the Ents in LotR. The part about him wanting the books to be made into movies though was made up, though.  
> As for Carmilla's connection to Tolkien in this fic, I imagine that she might have read his academic works on language. 
> 
> (And in my defense, while I'm not a big fan of The Hobbit movies, I played up the dislike of it to fit the characters)
> 
> my tumblr is also BatWingsandBlackCats if anybody wants to come say hi :)


	3. Armed and Tiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Creampuff Week day two-- paint guns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never thought I'd look up how fast a paintball travels for a Carmilla fic. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy! Comments and critiques are always welcome, and kudos appreciated :)

“Cupcake, why would I be interested in engaging in a silly game with warring _children_ ” Carmilla sighed.

“It’s a way to get out your frustrations?” Laura offered.

Carmilla gave her a look. “We’re not even in the Summer Society,” she said flatly.

“Danny _invited_ us,” Laura said, finishing strapping on the plastic armor Danny had dropped off for them. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

Carmilla grumbled under her breath, but got up. Laura took her hands and squeezed them gently. “At least come? You can read instead of playing, if you want. _And_ you might get to watch me blast the crap out of some Zetas,” Laura said, bouncing on the balls of her feet, beaming, and looking overly excited. 

She considered it for a moment and smiled. “ _That_ ,” Carmilla said, letting go of her hands and wrapping her arms around Laura’s waist, “is something I would certainly pay to see,” 

“So you’ll come?” Laura sked excitedly.

“Yes, I’ll come,” Carmilla sighed with a fake look of exasperation. 

Laura squealed excitedly and pecked her lips quick, and then turned around to the duffle bag on her bed, and pulled out the paintball gun. Carmilla watched with an amused smile as Laura swung it onto her back, and took the mask out and situated it on her head, but left it flipped up for now. The little human, not having much black in her wardrobe, had hijacked a pair of black skinny jeans and a plain back teeshirt from Carmilla, ( _“If those get ruined you’re buying me a new pair, cupcake,” “Oh come on, it’s black, it won’t show up,”_ ) and despite the impending doom that loomed over her jeans, Carmilla couldn’t find it in herself to be annoyed. 

Laura handed Carmilla the duffle bag. “What’s this for?” The vampire asked, raising an eyebrow.

“In case you want to join in,” Laura shrugged. “You don’t have to. Only if you want to,”

“You do realize that I can just smoke back up here to get it, right?”

“Oh...right,”

Carmilla chuckled, amused by the look on Laura’s face. She dumped the bag on Laura’s bed, and followed her out the door. She followed close behind Laura, smirking. “You know,” She said, her voice low, “you should wear black more often...” She slid her hand into Laura’s back pocket. “it suits you...”

Laura grinned, blush tinging her cheeks. “You like it?” 

“Very much so,” Carmilla murmured, grinning wickedly. 

“Maybe I will, then,” Laura smirked, raising an eyebrow.

Carmilla gaped for a split second before her wicked grin returned. _This girl._

By the time they made it down to the Summer Society house, Laura was practically bouncing over to their friends, all traces of seduction gone. (For the time being, at least.)

“Did you know that these little buggers travels two hundred and eighty feet a second?” JP chattered happily, standing beside LaFontaine and completely decked out in gear. “I read twenty five articles and watched thirty six videos last night in preparation,” he said proudly. 

“Hey guys,” Laura said cheerfully. 

“Hey frosh,” LaFontaine said, waving their paintball gun in greeting. “Hey Carmilla,”

“Hey,” Carmilla said, voice bored. She turned to Laura. “I’ll be sitting under the tree over there. Have fun, cupcake,” She gently lifted Laura’s chin with a finger and gave her a small kiss before sauntering off over towards the tree. 

“Oh, hello Laura,” Perry said pleasantly, walking over to them and looking very bizarre in all black. She caught sight of Carmilla sitting beneath the tree and frowned. “Is Carmilla not joining us?”

Laura shook her head. “Maybe later, but she’s pretty adamant that this is _‘utterly childlike,’_ ” Her face contorted in her best Carmila impression.

“Hey Hollis,” Danny greeted, and held out an orange bandana. “tie this around your arm, it’s our team color,” Laura took it and did so, as did everyone else. “the Zetas are wearing blue bandana,” she explained, “follow me, we’re going to be explaining rules in a minute,”

The four of them followed Danny, Laura falling into step with LaFontaine as Perry helped JP get the lid on his paintball gun in front of them.

“I didn’t know that Perry even owned black clothes,” Laura said, looking at LaFontaine.

“I didn’t either,” LaFontaine replied, shrugging. 

“Everyone listen up!!” Danny bellowed. Some Zetas were clearly ignoring her, continuing to talk. A paintball whizzed by her head and hit one of the Zetas in the chest. She whipped around, slightly startled, and behind her stood Mel, looking annoyed, with her paintball gun resting on her hip.

“Shut up!!” Mel ordered, fire in her eyes. Those few Zetas moved back a few steps, along with Kirsch. Who wasn’t anywhere near them. 

Danny smirked and moved on. “There is a flag hidden somewhere in both territories,” she said loudly, “you have to get into the other team’s territory and _retrieve_ that flag. NO--”

She was cut off from a loud pop, and then a yelp, over by Laura. Laura looked over to find JP hopping on one foot and grimacing. the foot that was in the air was dripping orange paint. “I’m terribly sorry Ms. Lawrence, please continue!” he called.

Laughter could be heard coming from the trees.

Danny barked a laugh and then resumed her serious look. “As I was saying...NO HEAD SHOTS. Accidents are one thing, but don’t do it on purpose. Zetas go to the left, Summer Society to the right! Move to your sides!!”

Both groups did as they were told, immediately running to their designated side. There was a bounce in Laura’s step, her adrenaline building in anticipation of the air horn that would signal the start of the fight. Carmilla was watching from the tree, a rather amused smirk on her face as she watched Laura bounce after LaFontaine, Perry, and JP. JP followed LaFontaine and they both hid behind a cluster of oil barrels. Perry stayed out in the open, and Laura hopped on top of a large box to get a better view, and then flipped down her mask. Kirsch was on the other end of the field standing out in the open. 

Danny counted down from three, blew the horn, and the game was on. Laura leapt off the box, but the sight of Perry barreling forward into Zeta territory, wild, fiery curls flying behind her, caused her to skid to a stop out of pure shock. She turned around to see LaFontaine and JP looking just as shocked as she was. The three of them shrugged and continued, Laura hot on Perry’s heels as they ran into Zeta territory. Laura blasted away three Zetas in the first five minutes, and Perry, four. 

Kirsch had tried to enter Summer Society territory, but Danny chased him away viscously, creating three paint splats on his back. Danny laughed loudly, satisfied for now. Her, JP, and LaFontaine defended their border, and Mel was running after Laura towards the flag. Mel was determined to get the flag, but Laura had other ideas. The little human dodged Zeta after Zeta, blasting the crap out of any who got too close. Perry stayed close by, defending her back rather viscously. _That_ was something that was going to be discussed later on. (After Perry had finished soaking all their clothes in club soda, that is.) 

After a half hour, Carmilla had completely abandoned her book. Watching the dimwit squad was far too amusing to miss a second of. JP was following LaFontaine around, but doing a rather nice job of fending off the Zetas, and LaFontaine was laughing evilly as they blasted away every Zeta within shooting distance. The Zetas were avoiding Danny altogether. (And while that gave Danny quite the sense of power, it annoyed her at the same time because she hadn’t gotten a single shot in since blasting Kirsch away.) Mel hand’t gotten hit once, and was still gunning for the flag, but Laura was faster. Being smaller, she dodged and weaved, leaping behind barricades and leaping off of them. She hand’t gotten hit yet either. 

Then she saw it. 

The blue flag was hanging from a tree by a string. Laura let out what she hoped was a menacing yell (it actually kind of was, considering her size) and gunned it. Mel had gotten held up by some Zetas, and growled as she watched Laura heading for the flag.

Laura stifled a victorious whoop when she grabbed the flag so as to not alert any Zetas, and hi-tailed it back to Summer Society territory. Her adrenaline was skyrocketing, and she blasted away anyone who came too close on instinct. Perry fell into step beside her--when the frilly hell did she put on _war paint_ \-- and once again defended her back. She broke away once Laura reached Summer Society territory, going to help LaFontaine, JP, and Danny at the border. Laura pushed herself the last hundred feet and slammed the flag onto the barricade that served as their home base, and finally let out a victory cry. 

“Ms. Laura! Well d--!!”

Laura’s adrenaline was still peaking, and when she heard someone behind her, she shrieked and let loose a paintball. A loud thud and a groan followed the pop of he gun. JP was on the ground, paint all over his mask. 

“Oh my god, JP I’m so sorry!!” Laura cried, dropping to her knees and wrenching his mask off to check for injuries. He was blinking rapidly, looking rather stupefied as blood trickled from his nose. In the background the air horn sounded again, signaling the end of the game. 

“It’s-it’s quite alright, Ms. Laura, just an accident,” He said, his stunned look wearing off as he sat up.

LaFontaine came rushing over with the first aid kit and handed him a tampon. JP looked utterly confused. “Shove it up your nose,” LaFontaine said, trying to get him to hurry up and do it so he wouldn’t bleed all over himself.

“JP, I am so so so so sorry,” Laura said frantically, “I got startled, I didn’t know it was you!”

“Like I said, It is quite alright, Ms. Laura,” He said, his voice rather nasally now.

Carmilla appeared beside them in a puff of smoke. “Wow,” she smirked, “nice shot, creampuff,”

“Oh my god, Carm, it isn’t funny I made him _bleed_ ,” 

“He’ll be fine, cupcake,” She held her hand out to JP and pulled him up, patting his back with her free hand. “Come on shortstack, walk it off,”

Danny made her way over, a shallow bowl of paint in her hand. “Great win, Hollis,” She grinned. “Mel is _fuming_ ,”

Laura laughed and got back to her feet. “Thanks, Danny,”

Danny nodded and held up the bowl of red paint. “Victor’s paint,” she said, and dipped her finger in, drawing a line down Laura’s chin and forehead, and across each cheek, and the dipped all her fingers in, flicking the paint all over her face. 

LaFontaine snickered as Laura staggered back a little in surprise, squeezing her eyes shut. 

“Uh...thanks?” Laura said, cracking an eye open cautiously. 

“Come by the house later, we’re going to have a party to celebrate,” Danny grinned, “see you then?”

“Yeah, totally,” Laura smiled, wiping a bit of paint ogg her lip. 

“Sweet, see you!” Danny said, waving before she jogged back over to her sisters. 

Carmilla and JP ambled back over. JP had pulled the tampon out of his nose and was trying to get some of the blood off his face. 

“How does it feel?” Laura asked, still looking rather guilty. 

“Not so bad anymore,” He smiled.

“I really need to study vampire healing more,” LaFontaine said thoughtfully, “Hey can I do do some tests when we get back to the house?” they asked excitedly as they wandered off with him. 

Carmilla studied Laura’s paint splattered face, a smirk pulling at her lips.

“I know, I know, I look ridiculous,” Laura said, laughing.

“No, I was actually thinking that the whole warrior look suits you, sweetheart,” Carmilla grinned, a hand on Laura’s hip.

“What, so you’d like it if I started wearing black and went heavy on the eyeliner?” Laura asked, amused.

“ _Well,_ ” Carmilla drawled, pulling her closer. “I wouldn't object...”

“You are _unbelievable_ ,”


	4. "You didn't come home," "I'm right here, sweetheart,"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day four-- dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the angst. I started writing this before I decided to do Creampuff Week, and this piece is sort of just adding insult to injury, considering last night's episode. 
> 
> Sorry about that.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy anyways :) as always comments and critiques are always welcome and appreciated, and kudos are always appreciated as well :)

_Carmilla didn’t come back._

_Strong arms and flashes of fire did not bear her, carrying her limp body to her. She never again crossed that threshold, and a smaller body didn’t leave her fetal position amongst green blankets and leopard sheets and yellow pillows that no longer smelled like herself, but of wood smoke and sage and something sweet like chocolate and darkness and stars. A wrinkled shirt rarely left her grasp and she begged all to leave her be. She didn’t eat, food turning to ash in her mouth, making her cough and choke and retch. Salt tracks carved down pale cheeks stayed stubbornly despite furious scrubbing._

_She used **her** soap once by accident and fresh hot salt flowed once more as sage and smoke hit her like a brick wall and she gave up trying to rid herself of it. _

_She dragged herself to the shower the next morning and a broken sob cracked her vocal chords and split her lips when she saw that the drain was clear._

“Laura!”

_Headphones in, The Smiths blasting as she tried to ignore Carmilla’s voice in her head, but trying to understand this tangled mess of beauty and pain and blood and smoke and broken bones and the deepest brown eyes that her vampire had been at the same time. She wanted to understand her without hearing her voice and feeling her so close and so far away at the same time, her presence suffocating her but the lack of it sucking the air from her bruised and quaking lungs--_

“Laura! Öffnen Sie die Augen, sieh mich lieben!” The vampire grunted in frustration, shaking her head to straighten out her thoughts. “Cupcake, wake up!” 

Screaming.

There’s screaming and sobbing and Laura can’t figure out where it’s coming from and she can barely feel cool hands on her cheeks and it’s the slam of the door that causes wails to cease.

In comes LaFontaine, hair a mess, eyes panic clouded and brandishing a baseball bat in one hand and a stake in the other. “What’s wrong?! Is someone hurt?!” JP stood behind them, carrying a poker from the hearth and looking all kinds of alarmed and confused. Perry is down the hall, holding a rolling pin.

“Relax, Frankenstein, she had a nightmare, now get out, all of you,” Carmilla gritted out. “out!!”

LaFontaine lowered the bat, and nodded with solemn eyes. They understood that Carmilla didn’t mean to be so rough, the vampire’s tone a product of her fear for Laura. They left the room, closing the door behind them softly, and gently herding JP and Perry away from the door, assuring them that Laura was, and would be okay. 

Carmilla looked back to the trembling body beneath her, to frantic golden eyes and a glistening brow. “Laura, Laura, hey, you’re fine, you’re fine,” 

Those gold flecked brown eyes flicked around the room, taking in the white gauze around the bed, the red candles flickering and casting Carmilla in golden light. Laura felt the bed beneath her, the smell of her own shampoo from her damp hair mixing with Carmilla’s sage and smoke and unidentified sweetness, clinging to the blankets that surrounded them, the book haphazardly thrown at the foot of the bed. 

Those eyes met and focused on profoundly rich, dark brown irises, and her face crumpled as tears started falling. 

Cool, gentle arms pulled her trembling body upright and cradled Laura against her chest. “Sweetheart, what happened?” Carmilla whispered. 

Laura swallowed thickly, fingers curling in Carmilla’s black teeshirt and in her hair, nails lightly scraping skin in her haste, shallow breaths catching that blessed sage and smoke as she tried to ground herself in Carmilla’s presence. “Y-you didn’t come back,” She whimpered, “Danny didn’t carry you h-home and you were gone and I couldn’t eat and everything hurt and I felt like my heart had been burned out of my chest and you were _everywhere_ but nowhere and I was suffocating, I couldn’t get to you and I couldn't get away from the memory of you and _you didn't come home_ \--”

“Cupcake, cupcake, breathe...breathe....” Carmilla soothed, rocking her gently back and forth. “I came home, I came home...I’m right here...I’m right here...”

Laura buried her face in the crook of Carmilla’s neck as she tried to even out her breathing. Carmilla was here, she was safe, she didn’t die and she came home, Danny _had_ brought her home. Laura’s grip on her tightened slightly as she took her in, her mind having calmed just enough to do so. She could feel Carmilla’s deep brown curls against her forehead and her right cheek, Carmilla had been using her shampoo again, and it smelled like lavender. Her skin was soft and cool, she must have been sitting by the window watching her beloved stars. Pale, gentle fingers traced circles into the small of her back, firm and reassuring. Reddened lips whispered soft words in her ear, a gentle hand running through her hair. It took a while, but Laura eventually lifted her head, puffy, bloodshot eyes meeting Carmilla’s worried eyes and creased brow. Laura’s eyes flicked down to Carmilla’s lips before she cupped Carmilla’s face, pulling her forward and crashing their lips together. Carmilla grunted softly in surprise, but immediatly gave in, kissing her back just as hard. Laura took Carmila’s bottom lip between her own, biting gently and then soothing her lip with her tongue. Carmilla’s lips parted, inviting Laura in. Carmilla tasted like chocolate, like nutmeg and cinnamon, like those stars she so loved...like _home_. Carmilla nipped gently at Laura’s upper lip, sucking gently between bites and touching tongues, trying to reassure her that this wasn’t the dream, to etch the words _I’m here, I’m here, I’m here_ into her teeth, her flesh.

Laura finally pulled away, breathing heavily but remaining close, her fingers still curled in fabric and hair. 

“Hey,” The vampire whispered, tucking Laura’s hair behind her ear. 

“Hey,” Laura whispered back, leaning her forehead against Carmilla’s. She gently nudged the vampire’s nose with her own.

“Are you okay?”

Laura nodded, looking down for a moment. “Yeah...it just, um...felt so _real_ ,” Her eyes welled up again as that gut wrenching feeling threatened to grip her again. 

Carmilla carefully wiped the tears from her cheeks. “It wasn’t real though, that didn’t happen,” She kissed her forehead tenderly, and then pressed her own to Laura’s once more. “I’m here, and you’re here....we’re okay,”

Laura pulled back slightly and took a deep breath. She was still shaking a bit, and Carmilla could hear her heart still beating erratically, but her eyes looked much calmer. She untangled her fingers from Carmilla’s shirt and hair, wincing when she felt a few nail marks on her skin. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly, running her thumb over the indents.

Carmilla shrugged a little. “It’s okay,” she said softly, wiping more tears away. She thought for a moment, and then smiled a little. “Come on, cupcake,” She whispered, taking her hand gently and getting off the bed. 

Laura looked at her questioningly. “Were are we going?” She asked, crawling off the bed. 

“Just come with me?” Carmilla asked, letting go only long enough to pull a pair of sweatpants on. She blew out the candles, the smoke trails tangling in her hair. She took Laura’s hand again, a small, loving smile on her lips. 

Laura cracked a little smile, and followed her out of the room. They headed up the stairs together, slowly, their hands interlocked in the dark. Dim light awaited them at the top of the stairs. The solarium. Carmilla carefully led her inside, and then went around the room, lighting a few oil lamps and candles. The antique chez lounge still sat in the middle of the room, and the blankets they’d curled up under the last time they had been up here were still present, neatly folded over the foot of the lounge. The room was bathed in a warm, orange glow, and Carmilla couldn’t take her eyes off of Laura, who was looking up at the sky.

“It’s so beautiful,” Laura whispered, marveling at the constellations so far above the two of them. “I see why you love them so much,” 

“You didn’t see them last time we were up here?” Carmilla said, smiling as she wrapped an arm around Laura’s waist. 

Laura looked at her and shook her head. “I was looking at you,” 

Carmilla smiled a bit shyly and pulled her in for a soft kiss. It wasn’t desperate like their kiss in the bedroom, no tears or teeth or hands begging to feel the other’s body, no feelings of dread. It was soft, and steady. Comforting. They broke apart after a few minutes. “I was looking at you, too,” Carmilla murmured. She kissed Laura’s cheek, nuzzling her gently. She looked up again, noticing just how tired Laura was once again, now that the adrenaline had worn off. “Feel like sleeping yet?”

Laura nodded, letting out a sigh. Carmilla squeezed her hand gently and led her over to the lounge, and got on first, holding her arms open for Laura. Laura nestled herself in her arms as Carmilla pulled a blanket around them both, sighing contentedly as Carmilla’s arms wound tightly around her once the blanket was draped over them. Carmilla stroked the back of her left hand, tracing little patterns as she watched Laura close her eyes, her head place over Carmilla’s faintly beating heart. A quiet smile graced the vampire’s lips as an old song came to mind, a lullaby her mother, her _real_ mother, had once sung to her. She sang quietly into Laura’s hair, German softly rolling off her tongue. 

_Weißt du, wieviel Sternlein stehen_  
an dem blauen Himmelszelt?  
Weißt du, wieviel Wolken ziehen  
weithin über alle Welt?  
Got der Herr hat sie gezählet,  
daß ihm auch nicht eines fehlet  
an der ganzen großen Zahl,  
an der ganzen großen Zahl... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the English translation for the German lullaby that Carmilla sings. It struck me as very Hollstein. 
> 
> "Do you know how many little stars are in blue heaven’s tent?  
> Do you know how many clouds trail  
> All over the world?  
> The Lord God has counted them,  
> So that none of them are missing  
> Among this great vast amount  
> Among this great vast amount"
> 
> thanks for reading, guys, I hope you enjoyed it!


	5. Hogwarts Will Always be there to Welcome You Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Creampuff Week day 5-- Movie Night
> 
> this takes place in the same universe as 'A Tattered Scarf', and is a continuation of 'On The Way Home' ('On the Way Home' and 'Hogwarts Will Always be There to Welcome You Home' both take place post season two, during Christmas holiday and (hopefully) after Hollstein works out their shit.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late post, due to some family stuff going on i'm getting this in right under the wire. I hope you guys enjoy it!   
> comments and critiques are always welcome and appreciated, and kudos are always appreciated too :)  
> (sorry for any errors, i edited it quickly to get it up in time)

An undeniable sense of home fell over Laura as Hedwig’s theme began to play from the speakers on either side of the TV. 

Laura and Carmilla were curled up on the floor together under a blanket, leaning against the couch in the living room of Laura’s home. Laura had her head on Carmilla’s shoulder, and their hands were tangled together beneath the blanket. Laura’s free hand was holding her scarf close to her stomach. Carmilla’s head rested on Laura’s, and she sighed a bit, and yawned. Everybody else had gone up to bed, LaFontaine and Perry were staying in the room beside Mr. Hollis, JP and Kirsch in the room next to Laura and Carmilla, and Danny took the den downstairs. 

“Aren’t you tired, cupcake?” Carmilla murmured, curling closer to the little human. “Not that I don’t want some alone time with you after being cooped up in the car with the ginger squad all day,”

“I am,” Laura said, eyes drooping a little. “it’s just...this thing I do.” She shrugged. “Whenever I come home from being away for a while, I watch Harry Potter the first night I’m back,”

“Because of your mother?” Carmilla asked quietly, her voice a bit cautious. She wasn’t sure if she should ask, but she could feel the scarf wrapped around Laura’s hand, and Laura had talked to her about it before. That afternoon they’d spent on Laura’s bed after she’d asked about the tattered scarf that had been wrapped around laura’s neck. She’d noticed that Laura wore it and held it more and more frequently the closer the trip home to her father’s had gotten. The closer Christmas had gotten.

Laura nodded. “It doesn’t feel like I’m really....home until I do. It just...kinda feels like mom’s here too, after I watch it,” She cuddled a little closer to Carmilla, tucking her head into the crook of her neck. Carmilla yawned again, and Laura looked up, looking a little guilty.

“I’m sorry, you can go to sleep, if you want. You didn’t get much sleep last night,” She tucked Carmilla’s hair behind her ear. 

Carmilla shook her head. “No...I want to be with you,” She said quietly, shyly. She didn't look at Laura as she said that, choosing rather to pick at a loose string on the blanket instead. She still had trouble a lot of the time, conveying her feelings through words. It was easier when it was just her and Laura, but it felt...weird, to her. She wasn’t really used to being able to talk to someone. Of course she’d had Mattie through the years, but sometimes She would go decades without seeing her older sister. And sometimes Mattie just...didn’t understand. Mattie had essentially raised her, taught her how to hunt and how not to take too much should the situation call for leaving the hunted alive, she’d shielded her from Maman, in small instances. Mattie had genuinely loved Carmilla, but there were many things that Mattie wouldn’t talk to her about. Love being one of those things. Any speak of romance made Mattie’s lip curl in either hate or condescension. She didn’t believe in love anymore. Not since the man she loved had tried to kill her all those years ago.

So Carmilla had read. She’d read and read and read, wanting to understand the burning in her chest that begged to be loved. She though she had finally understood when she met Ell. But she hadn’t, not fully. She understood what being in love felt like, and could identify it in a second, but she didn’t fully understand what it felt like to _be_ loved. Nobody had ever been in love with her in return, or cared to even explain what that might feel like.

Not until Laura. 

“Hey,” Laura said gently, letting go of her scarf to take Carmilla’s hand, snapping the vampire out of her thoughts. “you okay?”

Carmilla nodded, smiling a little as she looked up finally. “Yeah,” She said softly, kissing Laura’s head. 

Laura blushed a little, and caught Laura’s lips with her own, kissing her tenderly. Carmilla pulled gently at Laura’s lower lip playfully for a moment, before they broke apart and turned back to the movie. Laura snaked an arm around Carmilla’s waist. She knew that Carmilla was probably just tired, but otherwise fine. There were a lot of things that Carmilla couldn’t talk about, so they had a silent agreement that Carmilla would tell her if she wasn’t okay, or if she wanted to talk about something, so Laura wouldn’t push at the wrong thing by mistake. And in turn, Laura would tell Carmilla when she wasn’t alright as well, and when she needed to talk about. This system was a work in progress for them both, but they were getting better at it. 

“I...I’m sorry I’m not very...vocal about things, sometimes,” Carmilla said quietly after a while.

“Babe, you are _extremely_ vocal about some things,” Laura said, smirking.

Carmilla rolled her eyes, smiling a little. “You know what I mean. Although I won’t deny _that,_ ”

No, I know,” Laura said gently, dropping the smirk in favor of a gentle, understanding smile. “It’s okay,” she said, squeezing her hand gently. “I know it’s hard for you to talk sometimes,”

“It’s not only that,” the vampire said, watching as Hagrid dragged a giant Christmas tree across the grounds. She smiled a little. “I just don’t have a lot of practice with letting things out,” She looked back to Laura.

“I know,” Laura said gently, “there are some things _I_ can’t talk about because they bother me or I haven’t had enough experiencing talking about similar topics. And I’m only a _seventeenth_ of your age.” Carmilla laughed, causing Laura to as well. Laura nudged Carmilla’s head with her own. “We’ve both been alone for a long time. It’s okay. We’ll learn,” 

Carmilla looked at her in awe for a moment. “You are certainly something else, Hollis,” she said adoringly. 

They both lapsed into silence for a long while, content to watch the movie. They had paused during the scene where Harry and Ron played chess in the Great Hall before the Christmas holiday to stretch their legs and to refill their mugs, both opting for tea this time. Once they were settled again in their nest of pillows and blankets, curled close to one another, they resumed the movie.

“You know,” Laura said, “I think if you gave the books a shot, you’d actually really enjoy them,”   
Carmilla quirked an eyebrow, giving the little human a disbelieving look. “I doubt it, cupcake. I _live_ supernatural crap, why would I ever want to read about it?”

Laura gave her a look. “You’ve read Lord of the Rings,” she said.

“...and?”

“Carm, there are _wizards_ and _elves_ in Lord of the Rings, and there are wizards and elves in Harry Potter too. And you love complicated books! I’ve read all the books at least three times over and I’m still finding new things in them. and they defined a generation!”

Carmilla waved her hand. “I read it from an academic standpoint after reading some of his works on language,” she said, rolling her eyes. “And if a book is well written, you’ll find new pieces every time you read it,”

Laura laughed. “Carm, you’re a total nerd, just admit it,” 

“Enjoying literature by someone who also happened to spawn a pop culture following does not make one a nerd,” Carmilla said flatly, looking determined.

“Um..yes, actually, that is _exactly_ what makes you a nerd,” Laura said, “like, by definition,” 

“I am not a nerd,” the vampire said indignantly. 

“Yes you are,”

“No,”

“ _Yes_ ,”

“N--Laura!” she shrieked, falling over sideways as Laura tackled her. Laura froze for a moment, holding in her giggles as she watched the door to the den for a moment, hoping they hadn’t woken Danny. When it didn’t open, she laughed finally and kissed Carmilla, cutting off her muttered swearing (in French? Maybe.)

“You’re my nerd,” Laura murmured adoringly, after pulling away slightly.

Carmilla rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. “And you’re mine,”

Laura laughed and pulled Carmilla up again, cuddling close to her. She sighed contentedly and kissed Carmilla’s neck. “You can sleep on me, if you’d like. I know you’re tired,”

Carmilla smiled into Laura’s hair. “I’d like that,”

Laura grinned and sat back against the couch again, placing her yellow pillow on her lap and patting it. Carmilla tried to hide a smile, but failed as she scooted down and lay her head in Laura’s lap, pulling her blanket over her shoulders. Laura ran her fingers through Carmilla’s soft brown curls, her fingers brushing over the vampire’s pale jaw. Laura grinned, feeling a soft, rather soothing, rumbling against her leg, emanating from Carmilla’s chest.

“Laura..?” Carmilla mumbled into the pillow, curling closer to her. 

“Yeah?” Laura asked, looking down for a moment. 

Carmilla sighed against the pillow, her hand laying on Laura’s knee.“Thank you for bringing me here, with you...”

Laura smiled lovingly, and leaned down to kiss her head. “Of course,” She whispered. “It’s your home too,”

A ghost of a smile pulled at Carmilla’s lips. “Home...” she breathed.

“Carm?”

“Hmm..?”

“I love you,”

“I love you too, cupcake...”


	6. She is the Night that Wraps Around You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Creampuff week day six -- stranded
> 
> (This takes place a few days place after 'Hogwarts Will Always be there to Welcome You Home')

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the late night uploads, guys. This one was extremely slow going for the first half of it. Which is more than likely due to the fact that I've slept about five hours out of the last thirty six. maybe. I don't know, I'm too tired to do the math.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy!! comments and critiques are always welcome and appreciated :)  
> (sorry for any errors, I edited it really quick to get it up in time(

_“Sohn einer Hündin ficken,”_ Carmilla hissed, navigating the car over to the side of the road.

“What happened?!” Laura asked frantically, alarmed as she gripped Carmilla’s arm.

Carmilla glanced over to Laura, and her face softened. “It’s okay, cupcake, we just blew a tire, we’re fine,”

Laura nodded and let go of her suddenly. She looked at Carmilla a bit sheepishly, and Carmilla kissed her head. “Sorry,” The little human said quietly. 

“Hey,” Carmilla said softly, lifting her chin, “It’s okay, I’m just going to check if we have a spare, okay?”

Laura nodded, relaxing a bit. Carmilla kissed her forehead before taking her sea belt off and heading outside to check the trunk for the spare tire. Laura followed, wanting to help, and also wanting to get a little fresh air. Cars still made her jumpy, and her hands were still shaking. 

Carmilla grunted a “God damn it,” and slammed the trunk closed. “I took the spare out to fit the ginger twins’ bags in here,” She sighed, leaning on the trunk and running a hand through her hair. Laura wasn’t the only one who needed the fresh air. The car had been feeling too small, the hot air pressing into her on all sides, all the windows closed. She almost always drove with the windows open, but Laura had started chattering and Carmilla was afraid that she was getting too cold. She took out her phone and groaned. “No service, either,”

“Let me try,” Laura said, pulling out her phone. She let out an excited squeal a moment later, grinning. “Four bars,” she dialed a number and waited for someone to pick up.

Carmilla barked out a laugh. Maybe there _was_ something to old phones.

“Kirsch!” Laura exclaimed, “Hey, Carm and I blew a tire on the way home, could you come get us?” there was a pause, “No no, don’t wake up my dad!! He’ll blow a gasket and probably send me to school with a spare tire to carry around,” She breathed a sigh of relief after a moment. “Thank you so much, Kirsch,” she grinned and gave Carmilla a thumbs up, and then proceeded to tell Kirsch where they were. 

Carmilla laughed softly, and hopped up onto the trunk, leaning back on the rear windshield. They’d broken down in a wooded area, but being winter, the trees were bare and Carmilla could see the starry expanse above them. She calmed down almost immediately, breathing the cold air and seeing her beloved stars. Laura came over after a few minutes, and hopped up next to her, gently taking her hand as she lay back, lavender scented brown hair fanning over the frosted windshield. Puffs of hot air escaped pale lips, swirling above reddened cheeks and long eyelashes framing candle-flame eyes before rising into the air above them. Carmilla watched, stars forgotten and eyes shining in the darkness.

He’ll be here in half an hour or so,” Laura said, studying the branches that hung above them. She looked over at Carmilla, and the redness of her cheeks deepened under her intense gaze. “You okay?” 

“Completely,” Carmilla replied simply wrapping her bare hand around Laura’s woolen-clad fingers. She could feel her warmth through the knitted wool, and smiled. Laura was always so warm, radiating heat, contrasting Carmilla’s own cool fingers.

Laura didn’t mind the coolness of her skin. Carmilla had the night etched into her bones, the stars reflected in her deep brown eyes and the darkness carefully carved into the pallor of her skin, and her hair, gently waving bare branches. She was the night, _embodied._ She was darkness but she was soft and loving and oh so tender. The darkness in her pale fingers held no threat for the little human, and when she came back from her place at the open window, white gauze curtains billowing around her, her skin held the chill of the night air. 

When she would quietly slip in past the door at four in the morning, boots covered in dew and bits of leaves, she would strip the leather from her body and slowly crawl into bed so as not to startle Laura, and she would carry the scent of the night, wood smoke and spruce and the lavender of Laura’s shampoo and it, like Carmilla’s cold body, would fold itself around Laura. Laura would burrow impossibly closer to her, and Carmilla’s red lips would taste both metallic and sweet. 

When they would wake in the morning, Carmilla’s skin would be warm but her hair would be fanned to make those bare branches, and the scent of the night would still cling to every fiber of her. She would go from autumn to summer, black eyeliner smudged in the dim morning light, forever cloaking those star-laden eyes in the dark, in shadows, in the night. 

She was the night and she was _so beautiful._

“What are you staring at?” Carmilla asked in a whisper, smiling.

“You,” Laura murmured. She was quiet for a moment. “You know how you always go on about ‘I am the night, fear me,’?”

Carmilla chucked. “Yes, and how you always respond with how _endearingly annoying_ it is?”

Laura laughed softly. “Yeah, but I was just thinking...you’re right,”

“How so? Just because I’m a vampire?” Carmilla asked, raising an eyebrow to match her smirk. “Mostly I just do that to get on your nerves...” She drawled, laughing quietly. 

Laura bit her lip, thinking for a moment. Carmilla gave her a questioning look as she watched the little human get up on her knees, and then straddle her. Carmilla raised an eyebrow. “Gonna give me a lap dance while we wait for the beefcake..?” She grinned, that mischievous look in her eye. 

Laura rolled her eyes and shoved her shoulder gently. “Shut up, I’m being serious,” She took her gloves off, stowing them in her jacket pocket.

“I’ll be quiet, I’ll be quiet,” Carmilla chuckled, laying her hands on her stomach. 

Laura studied her, trying to gather her thoughts. “Your eyes remind me of the sky, like how it is tonight,” She said softly, running a finger between Carmilla’s eyes. “They get so dark, but then the light reflects off of them, and they look like they’re filled with tiny little stars...and when you eyeliner smudges around them it looks like storm clouds...” She ran her finger lightly down Carmilla’s left eyelid, tracing down towards Carmilla’s neck, beneath her ear. “You smell like the night,” She continued, tracing patterns across the pale skin of her neck. “You always come home smelling like wood smoke and spruce or pine needles, and my shampoo,” She gave her a look. “and that smell of cold air. It’s strongest when you come home in the middle of the night, but it’s always clinging to you. It’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever smelled...” She bit her lip a little as her finger trailed up to Carmilla’s, and rested on the shallow indent in her lower lip. “You always taste like metal, but also like something sweet that I can never identify when you come home at night. It’s...weirdly nice,” she smiled, her fingers tracing up to brush Carmilla’s hair from her eyes. She ran her fingers through her silken locks, fanning it our around her over the windshield, separating strands so that it spidered over the frosted glass. “Your hair makes me think of bare branches, like the ones above us...the waves in your hair are like the crooks and turns in the branches, and they both blow in the wind, swaying bcd and forth...” She trailed off, thinking for a moment. 

Carmilla didn’t dare speak, for fear of breaking Laura from her train of thought. She was in awe, watching her face, so deep in concentration. Her nose was scrunched up, her brow furrowed as she searched for the right words to use. How she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. She was in awe simply because Laura payed attention to her so much. Nobody ever had paid such close attention to her like this before. She was drawn out of her thoughts a moment later when Laura took her hand.

“You have darkness in your skin, but it’s not bad darkness,” she said, running her hands over Carmilla’s. “It’s the comforting kind, like how beautiful the evening is, when it finally gets dark. And your skin is cold, but cold like the night air and it feels so nice when you come home and wrap yourself around me, and then how you’re as warm as I am by morning,” she fell silent for a few minutes, and looked up, meeting Carmilla’s eyes. “You _are_ the night,” she said softly, “at least to me, what the night has always felt like to me,”

Carmilla was speechless, remaining still for a few moments before she reached up to cradle Laura’s face between her hands, and pulled her down into a kiss. They both sighed into it, Carmilla breathing in candle-light, Laura, the night. 

“I love you, Laura,” Carmilla whispered against warm lips.

I love you too, Carm,” Laura murmured, smiling against her lips. She saw light bloom on the other side of her eyelids, and opened them, looking up to find a car driving towards them. “Kirsch’s here,” she smiled, looking down at Carmilla.

Carmilla smiled as well, and wrapped her arms around Laura’s waist, holding her tight as they both slid off the trunk of the car. 

“Carmilla! Ms. Laura!” Said an excited voice. They looked over to find JP’s head sticking out of the passenger side window.

“Hey Laura, Carm-se--” Kirsch caught himself and stopped, “Carmilla,”

“Hey Kirsch,” Laura grinned, sliding into the back seat beside Carmilla.

“Sorry it took so long, JP is _really_ into my car,” Kirsch chuckled, turning the heat up. “One ride wasn’t enough,”

“It is just _marvelous_ ,” JP said excitedly, “this far exceeds the horse drawn tin cans that we had in my day, I’ve seen pictures of these ‘cars’, but I haven’t been _inside_ one many times...” he rattled on, causing the other three to smile in amusement. 

Carmilla pulled Laura close, nuzzling the side of her head and placing kisses behind her ear. “Laura?”

“Yeah?” She smiled, tangling their fingers together. 

“If I am the night, then you are my sun,” she whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the first line is supposed to be Carmilla saying 'son of a fucking bitch' in German, but I used Google translate, so it very well could be wrong. If anybody knows the language, feel free to correct me, haha.


	7. Of Flour Clouds and Bloodstains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Creampuff Week day seven -- blood cakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this piece is a bit short, but rather fluffy. Hope you guys enjoy! I had a lot of fun writing these pieces for Creampuff Week, it was a lot of fun working with these prompts, and I thank you all so much for the comments and kudos, they all mean so much :)
> 
> that being said, if anybody has any prompt ideas, hit up my ask box on tumblr! my url on there is also BatWingsandBlackCats :)
> 
> comments and critiques are always welcome and appreciated, and kudos are always much appreciated as well :)

Perry walked into the kitchen to find Laura standing in front of the counter, surrounded by bags of flour, sugar, and blood. “Laura, honey, what on earth are you doing?” she asked, coming over to her. 

“Uh, making blood cupcakes for Carmilla...or _trying_ to,” Laura groaned, letting her head thunk against wooden counter. “Normally I’m pretty okay at baking, but like...y’know, not from scratch,” 

“Would you like some help?”

“Please,” begged Laura. 

Perry stepped around the counter, shooing Laura away. Laura stepped back and hopped up on the counter. “Off the counter, sweetie,” Perry said without looking at her. 

Laura laughed under her breath and idly wondered how LaFontaine got away with anything. She hopped down, and hovered by the counter as Perry organized all the ingredients. When that was complete, the redhead started pulling out bowls and spoons and measuring cups left and right. Perry sent Laura off to the pantry for the vanilla extract and nutmeg, and when she returned, Perry was furiously beating several eggs to a pulp while adding milk, a rather determined look on her face. Laura set the two little bottles down quietly, watching her cautiously. 

“Did you wanna talk about it...?” Laura asked hesitantly, leaning against the counter. 

“No,” Perry replied in a clipped tone, “Not at all, there is nothing to talk about,”

“Perry, you are pulverizing the eggs--”

“They have to be beaten!”

“ _and_ you are fighting with your best friend,” Laura finished, which garnered a reaction from the redhead. 

Perry sighed. “It’s just--you can’t--she-- _they_ reanimated a _dead body._ You don't _do_ that. It’s going against the laws of nature for goodness’ sake!” She exclaimed, flour clouding around her face as her unruly curls bounced about. 

Laura took a smaller bowl and started adding ingredients for the frosting. She cut some of the ingrediants in half, and added blood to compensate. “But JP was dying,” She pointed out gently.

“There were other ways to stop that,” Perry said, waving her hand, “They could have uploaded him to a computer with more RAM, or put him in a _book_ , maybe, I just don’t understand why they had to resurrect the vampire that I killed last semester, that almost killed you if it hadn’t been for Carmilla,”

“Perry, there wasn’t any other way, without the library, JP was going to die--or disappear? Whatever, he wasn’t going to last without a corporeal body,”

“But did it _have_ to be him?”

“Uh, yes,” Laura answered, taking the whisk from the counter. her face softened at Perry’s scowl. “What would you have done if it was LaFontaine instead of JP?”

Perry heaved sigh after adding the blood to the batter. “It’s just so much to take in,” She said defeatedly, resting her hands on the counter on either side of the bowl for a moment. 

“Believe me _I know,”_ Laura said, “I’m dating a _vampire_ who likes _blood cupcakes_. But all they were doing was trying to save their friend,” Laura thought for a moment. “Think of it as sort of a medical procedure, like a heart transplant. This was just a consciousness transplant,”

Perry mixed the batter a bit more before ladling it into the muffin tin. “I guess you’re right,” she said.

“They miss you, a lot,”

“I miss them too,” Perry said quietly. 

“Why don’t you talk to them?” Laura asked, scratching her cheek and leaving a little blood behind from the frosting. Neither of them noticed.

“They’re mad at me, they’re not going to want to talk,” The redhead said as she put the tin in the oven. 

“I think they just might,” Laura was about to say something else, but was interrupted by voices coming down the hall. 

“...I smell vanilla and blood, I think AB negative, I can’t be sure, but Carmilla has been teaching me to identify types by smell--” JP said, walking into the kitchen with LaFontaine. 

LaFontaine stopped short, biting their lip for a second. “We just...came to get something to eat,” They said quietly, going to the cabinet for a granola bar. They turned to leave, and Perry and Laura exchanged a look.

“LaFontaine, wait,” Perry called, following them. 

Laura smiled and hopped up to onto counter. 

“Is that AB positive I smell?” JP asked, coming over to the counter and sniffing the frosting, his hands clasped behind his back.

“Yep, Perry and I made blood cupcakes,” Laura smiled, “You’re getting good,”

JP grinned. “I thank you, Ms. Laura, Carmilla is a wonderful teacher,” 

Laura laughed. “Don’t let her hear you say that,”

JP chuckled as well. “She is quite the brooding type, is she not? I hand’t really noticed until now,”

“That she is,” She smiled. She looked up, hearing feet hurrying down the stairs.

“Laura?!” A voice called, “Laura, I smell blood, what’s going on??” Carmilla hurried into the kitchen and stopped short, looking rather confused at the sight of baking utensils instead of the chaos she was expecting.

“Everything’s fine, Carm, Perry and I were just baking,” Laura smiled, swinging her legs a little.

“With blood?” Carmilla asked, quirking an eyebrow. 

“Uh, yeah, I thought you and JP might like blood cupcakes,” Laura said, blushing slightly as she smiled. 

Carmilla’s face softened as she waked towards Laura. JP had left the room, suddenly remembering an article that he’d wanted to read. (Since being disconnected from the internet, he’s been ravenously reading anything he could get his hands on.)

“Considering everything going on, I was expecting chaos,” Carmilla murmured, wrapping her arms around Laura’s waist. 

“It very nearly was, if it wasn’t for Perry,”

“Well,” Carmilla smirked, “remind me to thank ginger twin number two later,”

Laura laughed, draping her arms around Carmilla’s neck. Carmilla studied Laura’s cheek for a moment, and then leaned forward, licking the blood off. 

“Uh...Carm...?”

“You had some blood on you,” Carmilla shrugged, licking her top lip. “It’s your type, but it doesn’t taste like you,”

“Well I’d hope not,” Laura chuckled, “We used two pints, easy,” 

Carmilla laughed under her breath and leaned forward, kissing her. Laura kissed back eagerly, pulling her closer. She didn’t mind the slight taste of blood, she was used to it by now. She cared much more about the fact that Carmilla’s lips, which were currently sucking on her bottom lip, were very soft. 

“Y’know...Perry will...have our heads if...she finds us making out...on the counter...” Laura mumbled against Carmilla’s lips. 

“ _That_ ,” Carmilla said, biting Lauras lower lip gently, “besides just...kissing you...is _exactly_ what makes this so enjoyable,”

Laura laughed and kissed her harder, wrapping her legs around her waist as Carmilla’s hands creeped into her back pockets.


End file.
